Air conditioning apparatus



M y 1938. R. E. HOLMES AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet l Fla. 2.

INVENTOR RlcHaRu E. HoLML-a.

y 3, 1938. R. E. HOLMES 2,115,720

I AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Fil ed Aug. 24,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i I Iv I r 1 1 I 1 I r r I n I a ATT NEY Patented May 3, 1938 2,115,720 AIRoonm'rromo. APPARATUS Richard E. Holmes, Springfield, Mass.,assignor toWestinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application August 24, 1935, Serial No.37,667

8 Claims.

My invention relates to air conditioning apparatus, more particularly toa cabinet or casing for a unit air cooler of the suspended type, and ithas for an object to provide improved apparatus.

Another object is to provide a simple and inexpensive cabinetconstruction.

A further object is to provide a cabinet that may be readily assembledon the unit air cooler after the remainder of the unit is installed,thereby minimizing danger of defacing the cabinet.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a cabinet comprisingwall members secured in position with minimum externally visiblesecuring means.

In accordance with my invention, 1- provide a supporting structure forthe air treating element adapted to be installed with most of thecabinet nally visible. The upper and lower edges of the) vertical wallmember are preferably provided with vertical projections adapted to bereceived in openings in said inwardly extending flange portions. Thebottom wall member may be supported on the supporting structure, as byproviding the latter with flanges engaging in the channels formed by theflanges on the bottom wall member, and the other wall members may restin superimposed relation on the bottom wall member.

These and other obje ts are effected by my invention as will be apparentfrom the following description and claims taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. l is an exploded perspective view of the cabinet;

Fig. 2 is an end view, in section, of the complete unit air cooler;

Fig.3 is a detail view, in vertical section, showing the interlockingrelation between top wall and the vertical wall member; and, V

' Fig. 4 is a front sectional view.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I show a unit air cooler having asupporting structure, which is preferably in the form of an inner casingIll. The inner casing includes a top wall ll, side walls l2, a bottomwall l3 and a front wall It, and

it is open at the back. Adjacent'walls are secured to each other in anysuitable manner, as by bolting a flange on one wall to the adjacentwall.- In the illustrated embodiment, outwardly extending flanges I5 areformed along the rear half of the top and bottom edges of the side wallsI 2 and are secured to the top and bottom walls H and i3 by bolts l1.Similarly, the front edges of the top and side walls, It and i2, areformed with outwardly extending flanges it which are secured to thefront wall ll.

Cooling coils l9 are mountedin the inner casing J0, the several tubesextending through the side walls l2. The front wall it is formed with acircular opening 2i, and a fan 22, driven by a motor 23, is disposedsubstantially in the opening 2| for circulating air forwardlytherethrough. Four bolts 24 are secured to the top wall II by means ofnuts 25 and extend upwardly forattachment to a ceiling or otherstructure from which the unit is suspended and supported. The bottomwall i3 is extended beyond the front and sidewalls and formed with anupwardly extending flange 26 at each edge, thereby forming a drip pan tocollect moisture condensed from the air.

The unit air cooler is enclosed by an outer casing or cabinet 21comprising a bottom wall 28, a top wall 29 and a vertical wall member 3|providing outer side walls 32 and a front wall 33, all disposed inspaced relation to the respective walls of the inner casing. These wallsmay be made of thinner metal than the inner casing and provided with anexterior decorative finish. A rear wall 34,

which may be considered as part of the outer casing, closes the back ofthe unit. The rear wall 34 is bolted at the top to a flange 35 formed atthe rear edge of the inner top wall H, and it is secured by screws 36 toa wooden block 31 disposed adjacent the rear edge of the bottom wall i3.

The rear edges of the side walls l2 and the bottom wall l3 of the innercasing are spaced from the rear wall 34 providing passages for flow ofair. The inner top wall II is formed with with respect to the bottomwall member.

and are formed with flanges 45 projecting horizontally into the channelinterior of the flanges 42, thereby supporting the outer bottom wall 28.The outer top wall 29 is similarly formed with downwardly and inwardlyextending flanges 46, the inwardly extending portions being indicated at41. The outerside and front walls, 32 and 33, are formed by theU-shaped, vertical wall memher at resting on, the flange portions 43,the lower edge of the vertical wall member being formed with horizontalflanges 43 which rest on the flange portions 43; Said lower edge is alsoformed with downwardly projecting lugs 49 adapted to fit in openings orrecesses formed in the inwardly extending flange portions 43,

whereby the vertical wall member is positioned The outer top wall 29 isadapted to rest on the vertical wall member, the latter being providedwith inwardly extending horizontal flanges 52 at its upper edge,- onwhich the inwardly extending flange portions 41 rest directly. The upperedge ofthe vertical wall member is also provided with lugs 53 projectingupwardly through openings or recesses 54 in the flange portion 41, asshown in detail in Figure 3.- The outer top wall 29 is also formed withopenings 55, through which the bolts 24 extend.

The outer front wall 33 is provided with a rectangular outlet opening 56opposite the outlet opening 2! in the inner front wall l4. A rectangularcollar 51 extends inwardly from the edges of the openings 56 to theinner front wall, 14; providing a discharge passage 58 between theoutlet openings 2| and 51, and separating such passage from theremainder of the spaces between the inner and outer casings. Adjustablelouvers 59 are pivotally mounted in the collar 51 for directing thedischarged air in the desired direction, and also serve to conceal thefan to an extent dependent upon their position. The opening 56 and thecollar 51 are square, so that said collar may be installed with thelouvers extending either vertically or horizontally as desired. Thecollar 51 has a flange 6| engaging the front wall 21. I

When installing the unit air cooler, the outer top wall 29 is firstplaced over the inner casing, the bolts 24 being extended through theopenings 55. The inner casing, carrying the air treating elements, suchas the fan and the cooling coil, is then suspended in the desiredposition by means of the bolts 24. The outer bottom wall 28 is thenpositioned by sliding the same rearwardly with the channels formed bythe side flanges 42 engaging the flanges 45. The vertical wall member isthen moved downwardly into place, the lugs 49 entering the recesses 5!,

The top wall 29 is then brought down onto the vertical wall member, thelugs: 53 entering the recesses 54. Nuts 62 maybe turned down on thebolts 24 to engage the top wall 29, whereby the vertical wall member isheld securely in place between the outer top and bottom walls;

In the operation of the unit the fan draws air inwardly through theseveral groups of louvers 4 I around the rear edges of the inner casing,and then forwardly through the coils IS, the fan 23 and the outletpassage 58.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided acabinet, the members of which are connected together byv interloclnngmeans that are not visible externally. It will also be noted that mostof the walls may be positioned after the supporting structure isinstalled, so

1. In a casing structure, the combination of a chassis or supportingstructure, bolts attached to and extending upwardly from the chassis-,whereby the latter may be suspended, a top wall having openings throughwhich said bolts extend, vertical walls, a bottom wall, means fordetachably mounting said vertical walls and said bottom wall on saidchassis after the latter is installed,

, and concealed means for interlocking the upper edges of the verticalwalls with the top wall upon downward movement of the latter. I

2. Ina casing structure, the combination of a chassis or supportingstructure, bolts attached to and extending upwardly from the chassiswhereby the latter may be suspended, a top wall having openings throughwhich said bolts extend, a bottom wall, means for detachably securingsaid bottom wall to said chassis after the latter is installed, verticalwalls, means for positioning said vertical walls after said chassis isinstalled including concealed means for interlocking the lower edges ofthe vertical walls with the bottom wall, and concealed means forinterlocking the upper edges of the vertical walls with the top wallupon downward movement of the latter.

3. In a casing structure, the combination of an innei: casing; saidinner casing having flanges extending horizontally from the lower edgesof two opposite sides thereof; and an outer casing comprising a bottomwall member, a second wall member providing front and side walls, and atop wall member, said bottom wall member having flanges at three edgesthereof extending upwardly and then inwardly to form channels and beingadapted to be mounted on the'inner casing by sliding the samehorizontally with the firstmentioned flanges entering two oppositechannels of the bottom wall member,-.said top wall member having flangesat'the three corresponding edges thereof extending downwardly and then\inwardly, the inwardly extending flange portions of the top and bottomwall members having slots therein, said second wall member having pro?-jections at its upper and lower edges registering .with and adapted tobe inserted in said slots,

whereby said outer casing may be assembled without visible attachingmeans.

4. In a casing structure, the combination of a supporting structure; anda casing for enclosing the. supporting structure and comprising a bottomwall member, a second wall member providing front and side walls, a topwall member, said bottom wall member having flanges at three edgesthereof extending upwardly and then inwardly, said top wall memberhaving flanges at the three corresponding edges thereof extendingdownwardly and then inwardly, and concealed means for interlocking theinwardly extending flange portions of the top and bottom wall memberswith the upper and lower edges of the second wall member, respectively,upon relative vertical movement of said wall members.

5. In a casing structure, the combination of a supporting structurehaving flanges extending horizontally from the bottom thereof on twoopposite sides; and an outer casing comprising a bottom Wall member, asecond wall member providing front and side walls, and a top Wallmember, said bottom wall member having flanges at three edges thereof.extending upwardly and then inwardly to form channels and being adaptedto be mounted on the supporting structure by sliding the samehorizontally, the fianges'on the supporting structure entering twoopposite channels of the bottom wall member, said top wall member havingflanges at the three corresponding edges thereof ext-ending downwardlyand inwardly, the inwardly extending flange portions of the top andbottom wall members being formed to receive upper and lower edgeportions of the second wall member upon relative vertical movement ofthe wall members, whereby said second wall member is supported upon thebottom wall member and retained in position between the top and bottomwall members.

6. In a casing structure, the combination of a chassis, a bottom Wall,means for connecting the chassis to a structure for supporting thechassis therefrom independently of the bottom wall, means for detachablymounting the bottom wall on the chassis by a horizontal slidingmovement, a U-shaped vertical Wall member comprising front and side wallportions, a top wall, and interlocking means for positioning saidvertical wall member on said bottom wall and said top wall on saidvertical wall member, said interlocking means being concealed when saidvertical wall member and said top and bottom walls are mounted.

'7. In a casing structure, the combination of a chassis, meansforconnecting said chassis to a structure for supporting the chassistherefrom,

said chassis having horizontally projecting flanges at the bottomthereof, a bottom wall having upwardly and inwardly extending flangeportions adapted to engage said flanges upon horizontal sliding movementof the bottom wall, a U-shaped vertical wall member comprising front andside wall portions and having downwardly extending projections at thebottom adapted to engage the inwardly extending flange portions of thebottom wall upon downward movement of the vertical wall member, and atop wall having downwardly and inwardly extending flange portions, saidvertical wall member having upwardly extending projections at the topthereof adapted to engage with said inwardly extending flange portionsof the top wall upon downward movement of the latter.

8. In a casing structure, the combination of a chassis, a sheet metalcasing enclosing the chassis and including a top wall having flangeportions, vertical walls, and a bottom wall having flange portions,means for connecting the chassis to a structure for supporting thechassis therefrom independently of the sheet metal casing, means fordetachably securing said bottom wall to said chassis after the latter isinstalled, means for positioning said vertical and top walls after saidchassis is installed including means for interlocking the top and bottomedges of the vertical walls with the flange portions of the top andbottom walls, respectively, said inter-

